The Warmth Between your Arms
by Ivygldg
Summary: Harry has risen early to contemplate a new dawn. (A translation of my original oneshot)


Sunrise in the north of Scotland had the bad habit of taking longer than usual. Harry watched from a window lost in the highest floors of Hogwarts the mountains through which the sun's first rays would shine.

The dreams had not been kind to Harry, refusing to give him a break from all the stress of his fifth year. Voldemort, the visions, Umbridge, the exams... Everything was beginning to stack on his shoulders, and it was taking its toll.

Yes, Harry had small breaks from the chaos of the year. The Dumbledore's Army lessons were a kind of respite. The simple act of going to talk with Hagrid in the few free hours they had was a short break, but sometimes it just wasn't enough for Harry.

In those moments, Harry wandered the castle and always found himself at this window high above the ground where he could forget about the world. He had found this place during the entire debacle of the Heir of Slytherin, when not even the sure support of his closest friends could silence the murmurs and glances that followed him everywhere.

Somehow, he couldn't hear anything. Not Peeves spreading chaos, nor the fireworks of the Weasley twins, and definitely not the hundreds of students who, in a matter of hours, would be walking the halls of Hogwarts from one class to another. Up here, Harry could almost pretend that there was no one left in the world to worry about. He could be 'just Harry', instead of The-Boy-Who-Lived or an attention-seeking brat.

A sound reached Harry's ears. Steps. Light and measured, possibly accompanied by a grace only comparable to the finest ballet dancers. Harry knew it, for he had seen the person accompanying those soft steps more than once through the corridors between classes.

She had found this place in the same way that he had: while searching for a place to escape. By chance, she used it for the same thing that he used it for: to forget about the rest of the world and pretend she was nobody.

Harry had to admit that he had not exactly been nice the first time they saw each other. Prejudices on the surface and all that. Nevertheless, when they managed to come to an agreement on the space of this place and the conditions of their shared use, Harry admitted to himself that the company was nice.

The footsteps stopped just behind Harry, who was leaning against the column that delimited the window and that, from the right angle, could hid him from the casual passer-by.

"Harry." A soft, almost whispered voice greeted him.

"Daphne," he replied, almost reverently, enjoying the little they had disturbed the silence.

"I received your note." Certainly she had, otherwise she would not be here, but Harry wasn't going to mention the obvious. She had already told him that she was worried about all the responsibilities that were falling on him.

He had sent her a simple sheet of parchment with an 'I need you' written in it when he had gotten out of bed. Dobby had accepted the errand gratefully, as he always was when he 'sent a message from the Great Harry Potter, sir'.

The friction of her clothes alerted Harry that Daphne was moving around him, and getting right in front of him. The top of her golden head almost cut off his view of the mountains on the far side of the lake. Their bodies were just a few inches apart. Harry kept his gaze straight at the mountains, but Daphne raised a hand to his cheek, and with a little pressure, she managed to lower his gaze and focus his emerald green eyes onto her sky blue eyes. Then Daphne saw. All the resentment, the guilt, the anger, the impotence, the desire to do something that would make a real difference. All accumulated behind a mask of defiance against the dictatorship established by Dolores Umbridge. All accumulated behind the smile that he dedicated to his fellow students when they managed to cast a new spell correctly.

Something inside Daphne broke every time Harry had the same look he had now. Standing a little on her tiptoes, Daphne lightly brushed her lips with Harry's, giving a soft kiss that Harry returned with the same delicacy. She immediately cut the kiss and wrap him completely with both arms. Daphne buried her head between Harry's shoulder and neck, and he wrapped his arms back around her, allowing himself to sink into the warmth that suddenly brought the hug he so badly needed.

In that moment, the first ray of sun broke through the valley between the mountains, bathing the both of them with light and warmth. In that moment, Harry allowed a couple of tears to drip down his cheeks. When he couldn't stop them from coming out, Harry hugged her tighter, leaning his head against the Daphne's silky hair, and let himself be lost in the moment while it lasted.

That moment ended too soon, because in these times more than ever, the other students couldn't known these little interactions that they shared. None of their classmates could discover what they shared in their times of need. Harry opened his arms and Daphne pulled away from him, her eyes shining with unshed tears.

Daphne stroked Harry's cheek, trying to clean the trail of tears that had formed. They shared another goodbye-kiss, a promise. A promise of support in the most difficult times or when they wished to drop the masks of the Golden Boy and the Ice Queen.

Daphne disappeared with smooth and measured steps from where she had come, with a perfect posture, worthy of the ladies of the highest court and an expression of ice that didn't reveal even the slightest change of thought.

Harry looked one last time at the rising sun and started toward the Gryffindor tower with renewed energy and a peace of mind that he had been missing for some time.


End file.
